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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29682702">The Visitor</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/things_that_matter/pseuds/things_that_matter'>things_that_matter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>CMBYN: Life with Ollie [47]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Call Me By Your Name (2017), Call Me By Your Name - All Media Types, Call Me by Your Name - André Aciman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Brothers, Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Intimacy, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:15:12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,508</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29682702</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/things_that_matter/pseuds/things_that_matter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Oliver’s niece comes for a visit.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Oliver/Elio Perlman</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>CMBYN: Life with Ollie [47]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094873</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This story has two parts.  ETA: This story is now complete.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“I can’t say no, Elio,” Oliver said, feeling guilty. </p><p>Elio smiled, “Oliver, I think it’s great! It will be fun. What are you so worried about?”</p><p>“We don’t even have a guest bedroom,” Oliver considered. </p><p>“We have the study. We can put one of those air mattress things in there. Kids love those,” Elio was a little amused about the fact that Oliver thought his niece coming to visit was an insurmountable problem.</p><p>“I don’t know if my sister would be okay with her sleeping on the floor,” Oliver worried. </p><p>“No, not the <em> floor. </em>You know, one of those air mattresses. They are really nice. I’m sure she’d love it,” Elio tried to reassure Oliver, who was looking uncharacteristically insecure. </p><p>“You just don’t understand my sister,” Oliver said. </p><p>Elio thought for a minute. He was not accustomed to being the problem solver, nor the reassurer, but he found he enjoyed taking on the role, at least temporarily. </p><p>“Well, what if we put her in Ollie’s room, and then put Ollie in the study on the air mattress?” Elio suggested. </p><p>Oliver shook his head. </p><p>“What?” Elio asked, befuddled. He thought this was the perfect solution. </p><p>“Elio, we can’t kick Ollie out of his room. That’s not fair at all,” Oliver said.</p><p>Elio laughed and then continued what he hoped was a persuasive argument, “Oliver, seriously. Think about it. Ollie isn’t even allowed in the study. Can you imagine what a kick it would be to him to be able to sleep in there?” </p><p>Oliver seemed to be thinking this over, so Elio continued. “And he loves sleeping on the floor. When you were gone to that conference in September, he and I made this huge fort and slept on the floor in it for four nights in a row. He thought he had really gotten away with something huge. In fact, we probably don’t even have to buy an air mattress. Just a sleeping bag, and he’ll be happy,” Elio said.</p><p>“Why don’t we just throw him in there with a blanket and a little bread and water?” Oliver teased. </p><p>Elio laughed. “Oliver, you’re worrying for no reason. Your niece will come visit, she’ll sleep in Ollie’s room, and everything will be fine,” Elio said. He tried to use Oliver’s own confident, decisive tone that leaves no room for further discussion. </p><p>He was delighted when Oliver finally muttered, “Maybe.” Not quite a concession, but almost. </p><p> </p><p>By Friday, they were prepared. They’d been shopping for groceries. They wanted to have plenty of foods there that they thought she would like. Elio had been surprised by the shopping trip. He’d picked up some Cheez Its. Everyone loves them, he thought. </p><p>Oliver looked at them skeptically. “I don’t think my sister would let her eat those,” he said. </p><p>Elio tried not to look as surprised as he felt, shrugged, and returned them to the shelf. Next, Ollie ran over and picked up some Oreos. </p><p>Again, Oliver looked at them like they were tainted somehow. “I don’t think my sister lets her eat cookies,” he said. Ollie’s eyes widened. They made him eat his vegetables and kept his diet balanced, but he couldn’t imagine life without cookies. Nevertheless, he tossed them into the cart because they were his favorite, and he always got them. </p><p>Then, Oliver reached into the cart and removed them. “Ollie, let’s skip the Oreos this time, okay?” he suggested. </p><p>Ollie scowled. “But…” he began, but was interrupted. </p><p>“It won’t hurt you to eat a little healthier for a few days,” Oliver said. Ollie narrowed his eyes, but Oliver and Elio were already moving down the aisle, oblivious to his protest. Not wanting to get separated in the store again, Ollie sighed and zipped down the aisle to catch up with them. </p><p>In the end they’d left the store with nothing but fruits, vegetables, nuts, and other grown up foods. Ollie was not happy, but he forgot his unhappiness as soon as he got home and saw the study.</p><p>They’d prepared the study for Ollie to sleep in, and just as Elio knew he would be, Ollie was over the moon excited about it. He slept on the air mattress for two nights before Oliver’s niece arrived, even though he didn’t have to. He told Elio and Oliver that he thought he should <em>practice</em>, and so they’d let him. </p><p>Ollie was also very excited about meeting Oliver’s niece. He would have another kid to play with!  But, he was also a little bit anxious. He sometimes had trouble making friends, and Elio nor Oliver could understand why. </p><p>“Does she like dogs?” Ollie asked his brother the morning before Clara’s arrival. Ollie was holding his puppy, Olive. </p><p>Elio reached over to pet the puppy, who wagged her tail and nibbled at his finger. “I’m sure she will like Olive,” he said reassuringly. </p><p>Ollie nodded with a serious look on his face. “Does she like to play chess?” he asked next. </p><p>Elio shrugged, “I don’t really know. If she knows how to play, then I’m sure she does. And, if she doesn’t know how to play, then you can teach her, right?” </p><p>Ollie nodded thoughtfully. “Does she like TV nights?” Ollie asked next. </p><p>Elio reached over and ruffled his hair playfully. “Ollie, stop worrying. It’s going to be a lot of fun. I’m sure you and Clara will find things in common that you both like,” he reassured. </p><p>Elio suddenly realized the nervous look on Ollie’s face, and his uneasiness was confirmed when Ollie finally asked his real question. </p><p>“Will she like <em> me</em>?” he asked quietly, looking up at Elio hopefully. The look on Ollie’s face shattered Elio’s heart into a thousand pieces. He pulled Ollie over to him and wrapped both of his arms around his little brother. “Yes, Ollie, of course she will,” Elio said with all the certainty he could muster. And he sent a thousand positive thoughts into the universe that he was right. Who wouldn’t love Ollie? <em> Please love Ollie</em>, he thought. </p><p> </p><p>It was a long, restless night for Oliver. He loved Elio more than he thought it was possible to love another person. And, as much as he couldn’t understand why, he knew Elio really loved him, too. They shared everything with each other. They’d taken care of each other when they were sick, comforted each other when they were hurting, they knew every inch of each other’s bodies and souls. Even in Elio’s grief over losing his parents, Elio had let himself be completely exposed, raw, and vulnerable. But for all of the intimacy they shared, that they considered the core of their relationship, there was still one part of himself that he withheld from Elio, and that was his family. He never lied to Elio. But he never volunteered information. And Elio never asked him. To Oliver, Elio was really the only family that mattered. Elio and Ollie. And in some ways, he felt his life really began that summer in Italy, as if he was born that summer. Finally he allowed himself to be who he was, love who he loved, no matter the cost. And the cost has been high. His father and mother had not spoken to him since the day he called off the wedding and revealed to them the reason. So, yes, the price was high. But he would do the same thing again. And again. And again, so great was his love for Elio. </p><p>But Oliver had never fully stopped communicating with his sister. She was four years younger than him, and they had been close as children and teenagers. But when he parted ways with his parents, she felt he left her, too. She felt he chose Elio over her, which he thought was childish, but it was also true. He would always choose Elio over any other person. </p><p>Elio was excited about the opportunity to have Clara, though. He thought it might be the first step to repairing Oliver’s relationship with his family, which Elio had always believed was salvageable. </p><p> </p><p>When Clara jumped out of her mom’s SUV, she ran to Oliver and jumped into his arms as if she’d only seen him the week before. He was holding her, dropping a kiss on her cheek, when his sister finally approached. She hugged him as well, though more reserve than her daughter had. “You are more comfortable with kids than you used to be,” she commented. They smiled at each other. Oliver reached down and placed his hand on Ollie’s head. Ollie was attached to his other leg, the leg that didn’t have Clara dangling around it. “I’ve got one of my own now,” he said, smiling down at Ollie. He felt a pang of sadness when he saw how happy those words made Ollie. He was reminded, not for the first time, that kids need to hear those things. He felt Ollie’s grip on him tighten a bit. His sister smiled down at Ollie, too, and in that moment, Oliver thought he’d been wrong to be so nervous. Maybe Elio was right. Maybe everything would be okay. Maybe everything would be even better than okay.</p><p> </p><p>Maybe. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Oliver’s niece has arrived. How will she and Ollie get along?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Uncle Oliver,” Clara whined. Ollie’s eyes darted to the side, where he could see the two, but they might not realize it because his head was facing forward. This was a little trick he’d learned in second grade, though not from the teacher. </p><p>When Oliver simply said, “Yes?” Ollie was deeply disappointed. If <em> he </em> whined like that, he would get in trouble. He felt his eyebrows pulling downward, his nose wrinkling, and he knew that if Oliver saw him scowling, he would probably also be in trouble for that, so he tried very hard to relax his face. </p><p>“There are no pillows on my bed,” Clara whined. Ollie’s eyes darted to face forward again. He didn’t particularly want to participate in this part of the conversation. </p><p>“What do you mean there are no pillows?” Oliver asked, sounding confused. He was cleaning up from dinner, during which he’d gotten onto Ollie for not eating. When Ollie tried to explain that it was gross grown up food, Oliver narrowed his eyes at him. Then when Ollie tried to remind him that he had asked for chicken fingers, but Oliver had said no because Clara wasn’t allowed to eat kid food, Oliver had interrupted him and told him to be quiet. Oliver rarely told him to be quiet, and Ollie considered it only one tiny half-step up from shut up. </p><p>Oliver was now walking toward Ollie’s room to check out the pillow situation. Ollie sighed. Under his breath he muttered to himself, “It’s actually <em> my </em> bed.” Ollie sighed and watched Oliver making his way down the hallway. A moment later, he heard his name being called, and he sighed even more extravagantly. </p><p>“Ollie, come here please,” came Oliver’s voice. Ollie’s scowl deepened. </p><p>When he reached his room, Oliver looked down at him. “What happened to Clara’s pillows?” he asked. </p><p>Ollie shrugged. “I dunno,” he said innocently. </p><p>Oliver looked dubious, “You don’t know?” he asked. </p><p>Ollie shook his head. “I dunno.” </p><p>Oliver tilted his head contemplatively. Without another word, he stepped out of the room and into the study next door, pulling Ollie along with him. “Ollie, come here please,” he said, unnecessarily since he had a firm hold on Ollie’s hand. Ollie detected the false patience in his voice, and he didn’t like the sound of it at all. </p><p>“Yeeeessss?” he said hesitantly as he allowed himself to be tugged into the study where all of his pillows lay on his air mattress. </p><p>Oliver had a most disapproving look on his face. “I thought you didn’t know what happened to Clara’s pillows?” </p><p>“These aren’t <em>Clara’s</em> pillows. These are <em>my</em> pillows.” Ollie explained. Oliver gave him an overtly stern look, which he hated. He hadn’t seen him give that look to Clara even once since she arrived. Oliver seemed to think she was perfect. </p><p>“Ollie,” Oliver said, and Ollie noticed that Clara had walked in behind them. He thought she might have been smirking but he wasn’t sure. He wished he had not agreed to use his karate training for self defense only, because he wouldn’t mind karate chopping her! But, not too hard. Oliver must have seen the look that passed between them because he asked Clara to take the pillows back to her room, and at the words <em> her room </em> Ollie glared angrily at them both. </p><p>After she left with the pillows, Oliver shut the door. He was standing at his full height, arms crossed in front of his chest, looking to Ollie like a dark storm cloud. “What has gotten into you?” he asked. </p><p>Ollie tilted his still-scowling face toward the floor. “I don’t know,” he whined. </p><p>“Well, you need to behave yourself. We don’t have company very often, so surely we can be good hosts for one weekend, right?” Oliver asked. </p><p>Ollie shrugged, still looking at his feet. He felt Oliver’s eyes on him like lasers. </p><p>Unable to get Ollie to participate in a discussion, Oliver finally said, “I better not have to talk to you about this again. Behave yourself.” </p><p>Ollie sighed. “Okay,” he agreed. As soon as Oliver walked out of the room, Ollie muttered to himself, “She’s not getting my Avengers blanket though.” </p><p> </p><p>Oliver had never been more ready for Elio to come home. He was surprised by how much more difficult it was to take care of two children than one. Ollie and Clara had played together, and Ollie had been quite nice for the first part of the day. He had taken Clara outside to play and showed her around the yard. He even let her play with his puppy, Olive. Oliver didn’t know what had happened, but when the kids came back in, Clara soon became whiny and Ollie quickly grew sullen. Things had been tenuous ever since. </p><p>So, when Elio entered the house, Oliver breathed a sigh of relief. Elio noticed this right away, and smiled. “Uh oh, everything okay?” he asked. </p><p>Oliver shook his head. “Things could be better.” </p><p>Elio dropped himself onto the sofa next to Oliver. “Tell me,” he said. </p><p>“Are you hungry? We saved you some dinner,” Oliver offered, but Elio shook his head.</p><p>“I had to eat at the Student Center between lessons. I was too hungry.”</p><p>Oliver leaned over and kissed him on the side of the face. He hated the thought of Elio being hungry or anything other than perfectly happy. “So tell me what happened,” Elio prodded. </p><p> </p><p>“Ollie doesn’t like Clara and I can’t figure out why. He’s been making her cry all afternoon,” Oliver said. </p><p>Elio’s big brother senses immediately perked up, but he tried his best to stay neutral. <em> Oliver loves Ollie too, </em> Elio reminded himself.  Aloud he said, “Not to automatically defend Ollie, but are you sure she doesn’t just cry easily?” </p><p>Oliver looked at him as if he were trying to decide if Elio was joking. He wasn’t, which became clear when he added, “I just mean, you know, she’s a girl.” </p><p>“Elio,” Oliver admonished playfully.</p><p>“Well she is,” Elio said. </p><p>Oliver grinned. “I know she is. I don’t think she cries easily, Elio. I think Ollie isn’t being very nice to her.” </p><p>Elio bristled, though he was trying not to. Oliver relayed the story of the pillows, and he also shared about Ollie’s attitude during dinner. </p><p>“Yikes. Sorry,” Elio said. He’d never known Ollie to be unkind though. This was a kid who stopped to help insects cross the sidewalk. He was, Elio hated to admit, perhaps a little <em> too </em> kind, making him an easy target for bullies at school. He wondered why on earth Ollie would be rude to Clara. </p><p>Oliver shook his head. “It’s fine. They are kids.” After a pause he added, “My sister won’t be too happy though.” Elio noticed that Oliver looked dejected.</p><p>“Is he still up?” Elio asked. </p><p>“They are in bed, but he’s probably still awake, sulking,” Oliver said.</p><p>Elio leaned over and brushed his lips across Oliver’s neck, stopping to kiss behind his ear. “I’m going to go talk to him.”</p><p> </p><p>Elio found Ollie sitting on his air mattress, cocooned in his Avengers blanket, looking melancholy. Elio went and laid on the air mattress and then patted it. “Lay down, Ollie,” he said. And Ollie did. Ollie lay facing away from Elio, so Elio began rubbing his back, through the Avengers blanket which was still wound tightly around him as if he feared someone would take it away from him. </p><p>“So, how do you like having someone to play with?” Elio asked. </p><p>Ollie scooted away from him in answer. </p><p>“Oh,” Elio said. “I thought you would love having another kid around. You seemed excited about it.” </p><p>Ollie took several deep breaths. “I was at first,” he whined. </p><p>“What happened then?” Elio asked. </p><p>“Oliver likes her more than me,” Ollie said, and Elio could hear his voice quiver a bit. </p><p>He wrapped his arms around Ollie and kissed the back of his head. “He doesn’t, Ollie.”</p><p>“Uh-huh, he really does.” </p><p>“Why do you think that?” Elio asked. </p><p>Ollie only shrugged, but when Elio said nothing more, he finally answered. “Well, he only made what she likes for dinner and when I didn’t like it he didn’t even care. And then he made me give her all my pillows back. And when she was whining about my pillows he didn’t even tell her to stop whining and he <em> always </em> tells <em> me </em> to stop whining.” Ollie sighed. “And he didn’t even let me get any Oreos and I <em> always </em> get Oreos. And…” Ollie stopped speaking abruptly. </p><p>Elio patted his back and prompted him, “It’s okay, Ollie, you can tell me.” </p><p>Ollie sniffled a little, though he wasn’t fully crying. “He told me to <em> be quiet </em> and he didn’t tell her to <em> be quiet. </em>And when we went to bed, we were both scared and he stayed in there with her ‘steada me. And I was scared, too!” </p><p>Elio wanted to comfort Ollie, but he knew that Ollie really needed to hear it from Oliver. “Did you tell Oliver?” </p><p>Ollie shook his head. </p><p>“Well, that’s the first thing you need to do, Ollie. You have to tell people how you feel. No one can read your mind,” Elio used his thumb and index finger to lightly tickle Ollie’s neck, making him laugh. “Do you want me to ask Oliver to come in? So you can tell him?” </p><p>Ollie nodded solemnly. </p><p> </p><p>Elio briefly relayed the conversation to Oliver, and saw the dismay register on his face. “I didn’t mean anything like that. I can’t believe that’s how it seemed to him,” Oliver said. </p><p>“I know. Kids are weird. Just go talk to him.” </p><p>So Oliver did. He did not tell Ollie that Elio had already filled him in. Instead, he let Ollie tell him all of the things that were bothering him. Most of it was so small, Oliver would have never been able to guess it. “You let her stir the potatoes and I usually always stir the potatoes,” and “You handed Olive’s leash to her instead of to me.” </p><p>He pulled Ollie toward him. Rather than facing away from Oliver, Ollie curled up next to him, facing him. Oliver ran his thumb across Ollie’s eyebrow in a way he had learned was comforting to Ollie.<br/>
“Ollie, I don’t love anyone more than you. No one,” he promised. Ollie remained unconvinced. “I hardly know Clara. I haven’t seen her for a very long time. I’m being nice to her because she’s away from home, she doesn’t know us, she misses her mom and dad, you know?”</p><p>Ollie shrugged. “Kinda.” </p><p>Oliver hugged him. “I’m trying to treat Clara the way I would want someone to treat you, if you were ever away from Elio and me. I know you might be a little homesick or frightened, and I would want the adults around you to be extra, extra nice to you. So that is how I am treating her. I could never love anyone more than you,” he explained. Oliver saw a smile sneak across Ollie’s face, which made him smile, too. “That’s better,” Oliver said, leaning over to kiss Ollie on the forehead. </p><p>They talked a little more before Oliver, exhausted, finally said, “Do you feel better now? Are you okay?” </p><p>Ollie nodded, and Oliver felt relief wash over him. Just as he was thinking of getting up to spend a few sacred minutes with Elio, he heard Ollie’s voice again. “Will you tell me a story?”</p><p>Oliver teetered just for a moment, but seeing the hopeful look on the boy’s face, there was only one thing he could say. “Sure, Ollie. Which one do you want?” </p><p>Ollie made his adorable thoughtful look, which never failed to melt Oliver’s heart. </p><p>“I want the porcupine who likes to give hugs!” he finally decided. </p><p>Oliver chuckled mildly and began, “Once upon a time, there was a porcupine…” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
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